An ethical question-dog's tail?

Show quality great dane,a perfect solid black male with white white stripes on the undersides of his feet (100% permissable as far as AKC standard goes,which is who he's registered with). I posted about him a bit ago. His tail was broken by a sliding glass door and healed crooked. This wouldn't cause a disqualification,but as we all guessed,it would dock some points.This dog is champion material. His health is exceptional and I recently found out he won first place in a puppy 'mockup' (local) dog show.A vet suggested I re-break the tail and set it straight. They'd do it under anesthia so there'd be no pain,of course....I can't decide. He's almost two,big,happy,and goofy just like a dane should be. I intend to breed anyway,so it's not as if I'm worried about that. ...but I can't decide with him. Should I do it? Should I not? As I said: He's champion material. It seems like such a loss to the dog world. ...but I'm worried about any pain he'd have,too...Some people are coming to the exact same problem I'm having:Even if his tail IS crooked,who cares? He's still my baby. He's still from insane good stock,etc.Out of great grand parents,grand parents and parents,only his great grandfather was not a champion-and that's because he was never shown. He had a particular dislike for cars and travel. ^_-Everyone in his backround is certified for health 100%. I agree. I wouldn't be breeding him otherwise.And no. his tail doesn't effect him. Hence my dilemma. There's a show near us in august and I'm considering letting him go. If he's disqualified for his tail,ah well. It would at least let me know if he enjoys the show ring or not,right?

it's under anesthesia and should heal quickly so i don't see any issues with it. it would be hard to acheive a championship with a broken tail even though, as you note, if it's not genetic it should not be faulted.

HIsounds like maybe you should get one of his pups after you breed, breaking the tail could be painful and the judges will probably notice it.Lammy

I think it sounds mean

I would take him to a couple shows first to see how he does and how bad it affects his showing. I wouldn't do it unless you can't get his championship. Id also research it and see how much pain will be involved and so on the care afterwardsGood luck with him I hope he wins for you!

well. its up to you. if you want the dog to win, go for it. it will be painless for the dog, and im sure the vet will give you pain killers for after the procedure. either way, good luck.

If you're seriously interested in showing this dog - have his tail re-set. It'd be done under anesthetic and he'd be in very minimal discomfort afterwords. If I bought this dog as a show dog, I wouldn't be hesitating.

Just curious but how do you know he is show quality champion material? Besides a local puppy show, what has he won as an adult? I'm not sure if you know this but being AKC registered does not mean he is show quality..it just means that he is pedigree. Forgive me if you know that already.Unless his parents and grandparents are champions and all have been tested and free of genetic diseases, it's not wise to breed him.Check this site out regarding what dogs should breed:http://www.learntobreed.com

I can't tell you whether you should or shouldn't. But remember that a tail that has been broken, can be broke easier next time.But having said that, a tail that is docked at 2 or 3 days of age doesn't hurt them at all, but a tail that is docked or repaired at an older age, this is an amputation. You risk ' Phantom pain ' if you have the tail docked back now. But normally when you see that, if you rub the end of their tail, it goes away. It isn't actual pain, but it seems that they feel like there is a bug on their tail or something. Yeah I know it doesn't give you an answer But maybe some more information to make the decision?If it was me, I would likely get it docked back to avoid further risk and injury, breaking it again in the future. If you get a good vet to do it for you, and take good care of the tail afterwards, it's pretty good odds that he'll be fine.

would you like it if your parents broke your nose and set it straight because they thought it was crooked?if you're not showing the animal just let it be and don't put him through the pain and discomfort. and if the old injury does not bother him why consider it in the first place? domestic animals are supposed to be loved as part of the family and not put on a pedestal for display. i don't agree with the American Kennel Club. they have systematically destroyed breeds by making them popular. puppy farmers make big profits but there are not set guide lines to protect the animals involved.

People have bones "reset" all the time.The only consideration is that it is just the tail. If he was limping all the time because his leg didn't heal properly, would you even hesitate??

I wouldn't do it because if you doesn't need the surgery for his health then why put him through it. There can be risk to any surgery that is done and I don't think chancing that for looks is a good idea. I hope that everything works out good for you and your dog good luck.

If you're worried about his tailing degrading his show quality, and if he will be shown in competitions as a show dog, then you should do the surgery. The vet would not have suggested this if he didn't think it was an option. However, he still your lovable pooch and his fertility is not affected why subject him to it? The tail is a direct link via spinal cord to the brain. How else do we know when dogs are so happy? As for "such a loss to the dog world" - believe me, there are plenty of other champion dogs out there. This "loss" would mainly be felt by you. Docked tails are done while newborn puppies, any other time after that it is painful and causes more stress. (I asked my vet about this when I got my pups at 10 weeks old - the tails were docked long). Your pup will still be your lovable companion no matter what you decide. A crooked tail won't effect your love for him either. Good luck on whatever you decide.

Did you ask your vet if he would be in pain after?? I couldn't imagine that it would be too painful for him. Maybe having a crooked tail is painful since it doesn't sit right and the bones are kinked. It is a very hard decision to make since they (your pet) can't help you make it. I had a puppy when I was younger and they told us that he wouldn't live to see his second birthday because he had a heart murmur, arthritis, hip displaysia, and a variety of other things wrong him. They told us that we should have him put down but like you said he was so happy with his life. So, we didn't put him down and we did everything we could to make him comfortable. He lived to be 12 years old and had a happy, healthy and full life.It is a really hard decision to make but if it won't hurt him to have the surgery then maybe that is what you should do. It could help him be the champion he should be and he'd still be happy because he'd still be doing what he loves to do...just with a straight tail (and more points!!). I hope this helps...I don't have any medical advice just heart felt advice that I hope helps you.

If you intend to show him, then I would suggest discussing this further with both your vet as well as the breeder you aquired him from.If you have no intentions of getting him out there in the show ring to accumulate points for an AKC CH , then I wouldn't worry about it!

Heres the thing I have all my life grown up around Danes, St Bernards and many other very large breeds. Our dane Nyla also has the incident you mentioned {and I thought I was the only one it happened to} Our vet said we could rebreak it but here is the thing there will be LOTS of pain afterwards until it is healed. My dog came from champion stock also, that is not why I bought her I bought her for a companion dog. If you feel you MUST show your dog or must use your dog for breeding purposes and think that a straighter tail will benifit him and you can control his pain after surgery then do it. Personally I didnt, and I wouldnt. My dog is for my family not to earn awards or produce off spring. Good luck. As for "loss to the dog world" get over yourself

The few answers that would help are how old is he, and just how croked IS the tail? How long ago did it break? Also, is he a real happy-tail, or more gentle with it?Thanks for the email:My feeling is, unless you go to an orthopedic specialist ($$$$$!!!) you may not get any better results than you have now, and with a happy tail, it is lucky that it set at all! I did show a dog with a knot on the tail from a puppy break, and she did well (didn't finish her but she picked up 9 points) But, she didn't like to show..the whole stress of the thing made her off-feed, etc..So, unless you know he is a real show-boat, I think I would just look forward to showing the b!tch. ..Another thought..You might get him CDX titled, which would really look as good or better on a pedigree..I drove over 400 miles through a snow storm to get a breeding from a CDX titled dog, (titled in 5 countries) as my breed is notoriously hard to train for such..It really paid off in my pups...It also gives him the 'red' title on pedigree..AND would be a great way to stay in the game and have fun.

If the breeder says it is alright, then do it. I don't think an ethical breeder who loves her dogs would tell you to do something that would hurt them. Plus then you could show him and not have to worry about points being docked.

Sounds like a delema to me...Let me vent for a moment then I will answer....My mom had broken her nose in a crash, and the docs set it wrong. They had to re-break her nose to fix it, So I kinda see what you mean. At least it isn't your dog's nose, right? lolAlso, My aunt has prize champion shepards. Her youngest that she was planing to use for breeding and showing had gotten her tail broken due to her teenage kids when she was a pup. She's the most obedient out her pack also. But, I think she'd decided she was better off being fixed since she had the start of health problems, and couldn't breed her. Her son still shows her regularly around the state though. Um, I guess what I'm trying to say is, If you feel the need to make him more perfect (and have the cash to do it!) have the surgery. Keep in mind, the crooked tail gives him "more personality" lol. Granted, he will be asleep while they do it, but it will be broken again. Did he show major signs of discomfort while it was broken before? If he did, that should be the deciding factor there. Pain meds or not, it's still going to be broken again. I suppose you really need to think about how he reacted while it was broken and healing, and ask yourself if he should be put through that again. If his attitude really wasn't that much different and he was still the big happy goofy guy he always is, then why not go through it? Good luck with it. I hope all works out for you - and him!;o)

Only do the surgery if you are keeping him in dog shows and you are adamant about wanting to win all the points. Otherwise it is a waste of money. My dog has had $2000 worth of surgery due to tearing the ligaments in his knees and having to have them rebuilt so he wouldn't go lame.Paying big money to correct a crooked tail is a waste especially since you love him just the way he is. Having a crooked tail won't make a difference in a litter either as it isn't genetic. Personally, unless it was life threatening in some way, I wouldn't do the surgery. I have always wanted a Dane!